How to Create Curb Appeal

Ongoing maintenance and care for your yard has its share of benefits - including prolonged health and strength for plants, as well as pest prevention - but it can also help create and maintain curb appeal for your home. Curb appeal helps improve the overall look of your outdoors, creating depth and dimension for a more interesting, eye-catching appearance. It can even make a small space appear larger.

Keep your yard in its best shape with these tips on adding curb appeal to your property.

Instructions

Step 1:

Edge driveway and walkways. Make sure to regularly edge any paths in your yard to deliver a clean, crisp cut and lines in your landscape. For most driveways and sidewalks, a three-wheeled edger is most appropriate to use; for yards with many curves, it's best to use a four-wheeled edger because it provides a curb wheel to better guide the edger.

Step 2:

Mow the lawn. During the thick of the warmer seasons, it's recommended to mow the lawn at a higher height to prevent grass from drying out and burning. A longer cut will also help grass crowd out unwanted weeds, preserve soil moisture and keep soil cooler.

Step 3:

Trim shrubs and trees. It's not uncommon for branches to grow long and poke out over time, giving shrubs an unruly look. Restore the shape of your shrubs by taking the unwanted branches and following them down to the point where it meets another branch, and then prune with an anvil pruner. This will also keep you from over-pruning your shrub. The same concept goes for trimming trees; however, it's best to use a pole saw for this.

Step 4:

Add lighting. Spotlights, string lights and lanterns should be used to illuminate unique features and walkways in your yard. This highlights their shapes and creates dimension and depth once the sun goes down. Refrain from excessive placements; a few, well-chosen light fixtures will add a distinctive, heightened curb appeal to your home.

Step 5:

Dress window boxes. Pick a color scheme and style for the selected plants, and repeat it throughout all planters - for both window boxes and any street-facing planters. This will create a cohesive look. Also, consider the color of your house to help you select plants of complementing colors that will pop against your house.

Step 6:

Ongoing maintenance. To help preserve the look of your outdoors and the health of your lawn and plants, routine garden and lawn maintenance should be a staple on your to-do list. These tasks should include things like weeding, dead-heading plants, refreshing mulch, and removing fallen leaves and twigs - especially after major storms or inclement weather occur.

Step 7:

Refresh gravel. If you notice that gravel looks sparse or dull, it may be time for a refresh to create a clean, well-kept look. Also, be sure to look for weeds that appear through the rocks or alongside your driveway or paths, and remove immediately to prevent them from spreading.